Conservative Republicans Ratchet Up War Against Poor

March 28, 2011 3:32 pm ET —
Walid Zafar

Members of the influential
Republican Study Committee finally have a plan on how to create jobs: a bill
introduced in the House earlier this month by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) will
impose a work requirement on food stamps recipients. If you're one of the tens
of millions of Americans receiving food stamps, or one of the millions pushed
into the program as a result of the recession — the worst since the Great
Depression — you will first need to find a job before you can feed your family.
Their cynical legislation also scales back funding for vital safety net
programs to pre-recession levels.

Members of
the GOP's most conservative House faction earlier this month introduced a bill
that would reduce funding for the nation's welfare programs to 2007 levels. In
addition, the legislation would impose a work requirement for those who receive
food stamps.

"We need a smarter approach that promotes
self-reliance and acknowledges the interconnected nature of all our
anti-poverty programs," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the
conservative Republican Study Committee and sponsor of the legislation.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., a co-sponsor and member
of the House Budget Committee, wants the funding cap language included in the
House budget resolution, which sets spending limits for the upcoming fiscal
year and could be on the floor by April. The work requirement for food stamps
could move later in a separate bill.

The bill comes during a period of
sustained unemployment; nearly 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of
work for more than six months. Since the start of the recession, the number of
Americans who have opted for state and federal safety net programs has increased
dramatically, including in the most
conservative of states. A record number of Americans — more
than 40 million — are now receiving food stamps.

The RSC's proposal is cruel, and it's
also really bad policy. Because there are few jobs to be had — the Economic
Policy Institute estimates that there are currently more than
six job seekers for every job opening — the work requirement will
inevitably push more and more families into abject poverty. Once there, they
will be in an even weaker position to find employment.

As the editors of the New York Times
put it, "Surely hard times should find public servants protecting the neediest
first, not targeting them for crumbs from a program more vital to society than
another tired round of antiwelfare politicking."

The work requirement isn't the
only GOP-led proposal aimed at weakening the food stamp program. Another
provision buried in
the bill bars families from participating in the program if a member of the
family goes on strike. It reads: "no member of a family unit shall
participate in the food stamp program at any time that any able-bodied work
eligible adult member of such household is on strike as defined in the Labor
Management Relations Act."